Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has committed not to dismiss the more than 4 000 public comments received in response to the draft Integrated Resource Plan 2023 (IRP2023), the content of which has been heavily criticised.

Instead, he has promised to host workshops with stakeholders, especially those 200-odd who had made “substantive” submissions.

“Many of those public comments are substantive and require us to fundamentally relook at the IRP,” the Minister said during a briefing.

He acknowledge that the discussions would extend the time it would take for updating the current technology allocations contained in the prevailing, yet outdated, IRP2019.

However, he argued that such a process would add credibility to the new IRP.

Similar engagements would be held on the Gas Masterplan, as there were also “fundamental issues [with that plan], which require attention”.

“We are going to be aggressive and yet patient,” he explained, stressing that the new leadership team was eager to finalise the documents but without sacrificing the detailed technical work that was also required.

Ramokgopa also acknowledged that it would have been more “logical” to first publish an overarching Integrated Energy Plan (IEP) to which the IRP and Gas Masterplan would have then been aligned.

He said he had no immediate solution to the current “inverted” approach of developing the sector plans ahead of the IEP, but stressed that he was keen to “remedy that anomaly”.